Tag: Adam Lacey

‘The role of the film critic hasn’t changed; we guide people towards good movies and try to warn them off bad ones. Newspapers, television and radio will always require informed, coherent opinion, something not synonymous with the internet.’

So begins John Maguire, film critic for the Sunday Business Post and Ian Dempsey’s Today FM radio show.

The role of the critic has changed in recent years with the sudden deluge of articles, criticisms, essays and reviews available within seconds on the internet. Yet even with such an influx of information so readily at hand, how much has the modern critic had to adapt?

‘The medium has changed’, John continues. ‘There are far more outlets now for opinion than before but the fact that there is a lot of it, and it is easy to access, does not necessarily mean it is worth reading. And why would you bother? The quality and intellectual vigour of Irish newspaper film criticism is just as good as any internationally.’

Rotten tomatoes
‘Since 2005 I have posted selected reviews on my website, which is listed on imdb and Rotten Tomatoes and linked to from dozens of other movie blogs. I get readers from all over the world, who are not exposed to the Sunday Business Post or Today FM, but the blog is a secondary consideration. My responsibility is to the readers of the newspaper and what they might like to go see in the cinemas at the weekend, the same as it was when critics wrote about films in 1999 or 1959. Readers form relationships with their newspapers, something far more difficult to achieve with a website or, in the scattershot world of internet film criticism, a thousand websites; from Roger Ebert to Sexman (nerdy internet sensation with a profoundly disturbing mouth.) I think Sexman is gas actually, but I wouldn’t take his word on a movie!’

In an age where the economy is collapsing around us like a paper house in the rain, some jobs will always be around.

Step forward the extras. Behind every arse on Braveheart, behind every flowing coat and hat combo in Michael Collins, behind every background smock in The Tudors lies the beating, expectant heart of the extra, some waiting patiently for their big break, some just happy to be working in a jovial environment free from the shackles of an office cubicle.

So is it fun? ‘Yes’ seems to be the answer.

Glenn Gannon gushes: ‘Working alongside Derek Jacobi on The Old Curiosity Shop was special. Laws of Attraction with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore was brilliant but head and shoulders above those is my role as Mr Radcliffe in Becoming Jane. Just four of us in a scene together: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Helen McCrory and myself. That only happens when they want a special extra or an up-and-coming actor for a specific scene.’

Nigel Davey finds it tough to pick a favourite role: ‘I guess if I had to choose a favourite job, it would be playing a police constable in the bbc drama George Gently. I was on set every week for the last five months and got to hang out with the main actors, Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby.’